La Bete Tickets

When you take a cast of celebrated actors and place them at the Comedy Theatre in the West End, you know you are in for something special. It has happened in the past – Keira Knightley is now up for a Laurence Olivier Award for “The Misanthrope” at the venue and in 2008 people flocked there to see “Fat Pig” with the likes of Kris Marshall and Robert Webb.

Now audiences have a brand new chance to see some big names on the stage of the Comedy Theatre as David Hirson’s 1991 comedy “La Bête” opens at the venue with Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley in lead roles.

All three performers are respected in their field, with Mark Rylance another star who is up for an Olivier Award for his performance in “Jerusalem” at the Royal Court Theatre and, in 2010, at the Apollo Theatre. Meanwhile, “La Bête” will mark the West End debut of “Frasier” star David Hyde Pierce and a celebrated return for “Absolutely Fabulous” actress Joanna Lumley.

“La Bête” is the story of two very different performers and the way in which they are faced off against one another as a fickle Princess changes her mind regarding their acts. One is Elomire, a classical dramatist who performs for the Princess alongside his well respected troupe and whose heart clearly belongs to the stage. The other is Valere, a street clown who heart only belongs to himself. When the Princess decides she is no longer entertained by the performance of the theatre troupe led by Elomire, both he and Valere must fight for their survival in an event that will go down in history.

Rylance is a well known stage actor who, as well as receiving acclaim for “Jerusalem”, has appeared in the likes of “Life x3” at the Donmar Warehouse, “True West” at the same venue, “Endgame” at the Duchess Theatre and “Boeing Boeing”, which saw him walk the boards of the Comedy Theatre.

Hyde Pierce’s appearance in the show will be a momentous occasion for fans of his work who would have been forced to travel to Broadway to catch him on stage in the past. His credits include “Curtains”, which earned him the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in 2007. In addition to “Frasier” he has also appeared in the likes of “The Simpsons”, “Nixon” and “Hellboy”.

Joanna Lumley has appeared more often in the news in recent times than scripted television shows as she campaigned to allow Gurkha veterans to stay in the UK. Her credits include “Sapphire and Steel”, “The New Avengers”, “Absolutely Fabulous” and stage shows like “Blithe Spirit” at the Vaudeville Theatre, “Noel and Gertie” at the King’s Head and “The Letter” at the Lyric Hammersmith.

“La Bête” is at the Comedy Theatre from Wednesday 7th July 2010 (previews from Saturday 26th June 2010) to Saturday 28th August 2010.